A brutal loss in blue-leaning Virginia and a too-close-for-comfort race in New Jersey sent divided Democrats in Washington scrambling for answers Wednesday, and calling for new strategies to unstick a stalled legislative agenda before they sustain more political damage. … The results were ominous for Democrats far beyond those states. […] Read more »
Youngkin’s win in blue Virginia offers Republicans a 2022 road map
On its own, a Republican victory in Virginia’s race for governor would have been enough to lift GOP spirits and put Democrats on edge heading into the 2022 midterm elections. But the fact that Glenn Youngkin won by keeping former President Donald Trump at a cautious distance, even as Terry […] Read more »
‘The power of two’: How Manchin and Sinema are blocking a new Democratic consensus
It’s hard to see amid the stormy conflict with Sens. Joe Manchin and Kyrsten Sinema, but the elongated Democratic standoff over President Joe Biden’s economic agenda shows how far the party consensus has moved toward a more aggressive role for government than during the presidencies of Bill Clinton or even […] Read more »
Could anti-Trump messaging be more effective in 2022 than in 2021?
A wise friend of mine recently observed that if Democrats can’t turn Virginia’s gubernatorial election into a referendum on former President Donald Trump, it’s hard to see how that strategy would work in swing states in 2022. It’s a very reasonable point, since Trump lost Virginia by 10 points last […] Read more »
Why Democrats are in a lot of trouble in Virginia
Virginia will have the eyes of the political world on it Tuesday night. Most of the attention will be on the marquee gubernatorial election between Democrat Terry McAuliffe and Republican Glenn Youngkin. Less watched, but important for its national implications, are the elections for the 100 seats in the House […] Read more »
As Election Day nears, most U.S. adults say future of democracy is under threat
An overwhelming majority of Americans agree the nation’s democracy is in trouble, but Democrats and Republicans seem to be living in two separate realities when it comes to what — and who — is putting the country at risk, according to the latest PBS NewsHour/NPR/Marist poll. Eighty-one percent of U.S. […] Read more »